Logitech announces new AudioHub for notebooks that adds sound and connectivity

One of the pitfalls to using a notebook exclusively is that it tends to have speakers that are not that great for those wanting to listen to music and watch movies. One of the other problems is that notebooks tend to lack the USB ports important to users with lots of gadgets and peripherals.

Logitech has a new item called the AudioHub that aims to remedy both of these common notebook shortcomings. The AudioHub is a 2.1 speaker system designed to sit behind your notebook. The two satellite speakers are width adjustable allowing you to position them to the sides of your notebook rather than having them behind the computer where some of the sound is blocked.

In addition to having movable satellite speakers, a built-in subwoofer offers improved levels of bass and the speakers use a three-chamber design. A three port Hi-speed USB hub is built into the AudioHub as well to provide more connectivity options for USB devices. One single USB connection from the AudioHub to your PC powers the speakers as well as the USB hub.

The AudioHub is slightly more than 3.5-inches tall and has a pair of 2-inch tweeters and one 3-inch woofer. Another nice feature is a built-in web cam stand that extends from the top of the AudioHub. The USB hub is powered via an included AC adapter, allowing the use of high-power USB devices. A pair of USB cables is included with one 2-foot cable and one 4-foot extension. The AudioHub is compatible with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, and Vista as well as Mac OS X and higher. Logitech covers the device with a 2-year warranty and the device carries an MSRP of $99.99 with availability in October, 2007.

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I am in definitely the market for something like this. I exclusively use my laptop as my TV (with a Slingbox) and as my DVD player and find the sound severely lacking, particularly in periods with quiet dialogue, so this would be perfect!

Hopefully I will be able to find a review somewhere before I lay down my cash.

Yeah, I agree, this looks kind of cool. I think a lot of people are using laptops on their desks, and this seems like a nice, compact solution for audio and connectivity to other USB devices. It would be cool if it had an Ethernet interface included.

Why not just use a dock? That has everything you're talking about. Just hook speakers up too the dock. I bought a dock with my T61p. The dock is sitting on my desk. Now if only they would ship the actual laptop!

I hate those generic docks. They miss half of the functionality of a normal dock and still require to connect bunch of wires directly to laptop, like power, video, ethernet, eSata.I truly miss normal docks on multimedia laptops - who in their right mind think that only business people will buy docking solutions?

I agree with you about that. My old laptop was a ThinkPad, and I always thought about buying a dock, but I didn't. Now I recently purchased a Dell which doesn't have docking capability, and I didn't even think to look for that feature. Maybe I should have...